Oscar Prostorius Persuasive Essay

Oscar Pistorius, also known as “blade runner” because of his two carbon fiber prosthetic legs, is a Paralympic athlete who is a double leg amputee below the knee. He was born without a fibula in both of his legs. Oscar’s parents decided to have both of his legs amputated below the knee after consulting with many doctors around the world. Even after this Oscar became a very athletic individual getting involved with rugby and water polo as his two main sports. He also played cricket, tennis and participated in triathlons on the side. At the age of 16 he shattered his knee playing rugby. He then became very involved with running and track in general after having to do this for his rehab anyway. That got him to where he is. Now Oscar is
a Paralympic athlete competing in track. He has come home with six gold medals, one silver and bronze medal. He runs the 100m, 200m and 400m in the competitive class of T43/T44 for Paralympics. He also holds a couple world records. At the 2012 Olympic games he was the first ever person with an amputation to run in the Olympics. The problem here is whether he should just strictly compete in the Olympics or just strictly in the Paralympics or should he able to compete in both like he did this past summer. I think that Oscar should have be allowed to compete in, and continue to run in an able-bodied sport such as the Olympics and in the Paralympics because he is obviously able to keep up with other individuals.
I also think this because he is also challenging the other competitors. In my opinion just because he has the prosthetic legs doesn’t give him any more of an advantage. He has worked his whole life to get to where he is now and has dedicated his time to running and getting better as an athlete and individual. If he is able to keep up with all the other competitors then why should he not be able to participate in the
Olympics. I think Oscar is an inspiration to many. I say this because he has beaten the odds and has gotten to place that no one else has gotten to. Becoming the first differently abled person to run in the Olympics and then making it to the semifinals of the 400m dash. He is great example of how human spirit can overcome adversity and so many barriers. I believe that Pistorius is truly a person that an individual with less ability can look up to. Another reason I have for him to be able to continue to run in the Olympics is because he brings great camaraderie to the atmosphere. After his final heat in the Olympics the winner, Kirani James, of that heat came up to him and swapped name tag/bib number. He said this to a reporter “I just see him as another athlete, another competitor. What's more important is I see him as another person. He's someone I admire and respect.” This quote right here from a competitor just says it all. If he is able to respect him as a competitor then I don’t see why everyone else in this sport cannot. He doesn’t look at him like he is “disabled” or any differently. He looks at Oscar as another individual that is trying to achieve the same goal he is. One counter argument would be that Oscar shouldn’t be able to run in able-bodied sports, such as the Olympics, because he has an unfair disadvantage because of his prosthetics. Some would say that he doesn’t have as much mass on his legs so therefore he doesn’t expend as much energy to get his legs moving thus making him faster. Others would also say that the prosthesis has more push and spring to them making him faster with his stride frequencies. A stride frequency or swing is the number or strides that a runner takes over a certain time period. According to the Journal of Applied Physiology “our analysis identifies two modifications of existing lower limb prostheses that would further enhance speed for double transtibial amputees: reduced mass to further decrease minimum swing times and increased length to further increase contact lengths.” From this finding it shows that there is an advantage to having a prosthesis. Some may say that there is also a psychological disadvantage to the competitors.
One disadvantage is that they may or may not have lower expectations because he is “disabled”. What I mean by this is that he/she may lower their standards because they know that they are going to beat him and they don’t have to try as hard. Another psychological disadvantage may be that since they know he is “disabled” then they may or may not feel bad beating him. He/she may not want to beat him because it “looks bad on their part.” This could also affect the confidence of the competitors as well. Whether they should show him up and beat him or whether they should tone down a level and let him only lose by a second or
two. I am going to end this with restating my opinion in that I do believe that he should be able to participate in both the Paralympics and Olympics because he has earned his right to compete in the Olympics by making the times and having the drive to succeed. One thing that has stuck in my head the whole time I have been writing this is a quote that Oscar has said “you are not disabled by your disabilities, but abled by your abilities.” I think that this quote means a lot. Its whether you decide to let you disability define you or you embrace it and live life. I think that Oscar is definitely living by his quote and embracing what he has. I believe that he has overcome barriers and will continue to do so and will continue to inspire individuals to do better and take the risks!

Sources: 1. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/kirani-james-swaps-numbers-oscar-pistorius-400-meters-213736769--oly.html 2. http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/33981/no-legs-good-two-legs-bad-does-oscar-pistorius-have-an-unfair-advantage 3. http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13008 4. http://oscarpistorius.com/about#top 5. http://jap.physiology.org/content/108/4/1011